Soccer player, 21, is killed by non-English speaking commercial truck driver in US on visa lottery
The death of a young college soccer player on an Ohio highway is rapidly becoming a national flashpoint in the ongoing debate over commercial driver standards, immigration screening and highway safety.
Twenty-one-year-old Tobias “Toby” Forsythe, a goalkeeper for the University of Massachusetts Lowell men’s soccer team, was killed Sunday in a crash on Interstate 71 in Madison County, Ohio. Authorities say a commercial truck driven by 42-year-old Bekhzod Asrarov struck the vehicle Forsythe was riding in, triggering a crash that claimed the young athlete’s life.
What began as a tragic accident story has now expanded into a broader controversy after details emerged about the driver and his conduct following the collision.
According to reports confirmed by multiple outlets, Asrarov entered the United States in 2024 through the diversity visa lottery program and held a commercial driver’s license issued in Ohio. Sources familiar with the investigation told reporters that he relied on Google Translate to communicate with responding Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers because he could not speak English.
Even more troubling are allegations that surfaced after the crash.
Investigators reportedly believe Asrarov attempted to destroy potential evidence at the scene, including a dash camera, mobile phones and an electronic logging device used to track commercial driving activity. Authorities have not yet publicly detailed whether any criminal charges related to evidence tampering will be pursued.
Twenty-one-year-old Tobias “Toby” Forsythe, a goalkeeper for the University of Massachusetts Lowell men’s soccer team, was killed Sunday in a crash on Interstate 71 in Madison County, Ohio. Authorities say a commercial truck driven by 42-year-old Bekhzod Asrarov struck the vehicle Forsythe was riding in, triggering a crash that claimed the young athlete’s life.
What began as a tragic accident story has now expanded into a broader controversy after details emerged about the driver and his conduct following the collision.
According to reports confirmed by multiple outlets, Asrarov entered the United States in 2024 through the diversity visa lottery program and held a commercial driver’s license issued in Ohio. Sources familiar with the investigation told reporters that he relied on Google Translate to communicate with responding Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers because he could not speak English.
Even more troubling are allegations that surfaced after the crash.
Investigators reportedly believe Asrarov attempted to destroy potential evidence at the scene, including a dash camera, mobile phones and an electronic logging device used to track commercial driving activity. Authorities have not yet publicly detailed whether any criminal charges related to evidence tampering will be pursued.
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